The first case on which Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy partner Sean Murphy was assigned right out of law school in the mid-1990s was in the somewhat unique securities litigation world created by the Investment Company Act of 1940—or simply the '40 Act.

The beginnings were auspicious, as Murphy has become a leading litigator in the area, helping to make Milbank arguably the top firm to handle investor suits against investment advisers under the even more specific Section 36, which governs fiduciary duties.

Murphy, a 14-year veteran of the firm, has worked on dozens of such cases over the past two decades. However, the rate at which those cases go to trial is small. According to Murphy, only nine have done so, and the firm has handled six of those. Of those six, Murphy has tried the only three to go to trial in the last 25 years, winning all.